In residential homes, as well as other structures, there is a great deal of what is termed finish carpentry. Skilled labor is required to perform this type of work and it is very time consuming and therefore expensive. In view of this, every effort is made to cut corners and to reduce the cost of finish work.
One particular type of finish work that requires a substantial amount of labor and expense concerns the application of molding. In particular, the molding which is used at the base of interior walls is costly to install but yet remains a high demand item. The reason for this is that baseboard molding serves both an esthetic and a functional purpose. First of all, this type of molding covers unsightly gaps which may exist between walls and floors. Second, it seals the area between walls and floors thereby having an insulating effect.
Up until the present, baseboard molding has been applied in a two step process. The first step was performed by cutting and mitering a section of baseboard plank to the desired length and nailing the same to a walls lower edge adjacent the floor. The next step was cutting and mitering a section of shoe molding to the desired length. The shoe molding was then attached to the area adjacent the baseboard plank and the floor. Since shoe molding is flexible, it conforms to dips and unlevel surfaces which invariably exist in floor. Shoe molding, therefore, generally seals the area between walls and floors by supplementing the covering and sealing capability of the baseboard plank.
Since both baseboard plank and shoe molding are needed to effectively trim an area, it can be appreciated the large amount of time and labor required to install them.